Controlled contour lawn sprinkler



Oct. 6, 1953 A. LAZZARINI CONTROLLED cor-nova LAWN SPRINKLER Filed June 28, 1951 [110611 for:

Patented Oct. 6, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTROLLED CONTOUR LAWN SPRINKLER Aldo Lazzarini, Van Nuys, Calif.

Application June 28, 1951, Serial No. 234,037

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a lawn sprinkler of a type slowly revolving on a vertical axis. One that has come into widespread use, is propelled by the impact of a water jet upon a slanted plate of an oscillating balance which delivers successive horizontal strokes to the main structure thus causing its rotation by small round steps.

' Whatever the system employed in revolving the sprinkler, this improvement will be applicable to one in which the water is directed over the watering area by one or two jets, and in which the revolving speed is low enough as not to cause an appreciable distortion of the water trajectory. A slowly turning sprinkler is effective in covering a substantially large area of ground and is advantageous in giving suflicient time between turns to the water to seep through the soil. It is also convenient to persons moving about the area in dodging the water jets.

The object of this invention is to improve on such a sprinkler in obviating a serious limitation it presents in its use over small lawns.

The large circle it normally describes, does not make it suitable for such small lawns as the water would often be thrown over paved walks, driveways or buildings if the farther corners of the lawn are to be covered by the water jet.

My improvement is concerned with controlling b the pattern of the watering area as desired, whether it is to be a rectangular, round, oval or irregular shape.

I attain this object with a device the design of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and the description of which follows.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a sprinkler of the type above referred to, with the attachment constituting my improvement.

Fig. 2 is a front view of said attachment.

Figs. 3 and 4 are plan views of cam-plates having different outlines.

Same numerals refer to similar parts in the different views.

The sprinkler-head is designated with numeral I. This, in the main, is a pipe elbow with a flow curvature best suited to produce a far reaching water trajectory.

The spindle standard upon which the said sprinkler-head is mounted, is at 2. It extends downward through the bore of hollow nut 3, the latter being its bearing.

A male pipe thread on the lower part of said nut connects with the inner thread of an elbow 4.

This elbow is shown in section and broken 2 off. It serves as a base support for a portable sprinkler and it would normally connect to a hose. In permanent installations an upright piece of pipe emerging from the ground would replace it.

, The nozzle of the sprinkler is at 5 and the oscillating balance 6 is mounted as usual at the summit, with its coil spring I over a vertical stud 8.

The balance is formed at one end into a slanted scoop 9, which, when at rest, stands with its inclined surface in the jet of water close to the nozzle. The other end of said balance is fashioned as a counterweight [0, which is functioning as a hammer hitting the projection II, the latter being an integral part of the sprinkler head I.

The sprinkler head I is also provided with a front socket I 2 having a transversal side to side perforation.

A pair of arms l3 and [4, having appropriate perforations, are bolted to said socket. A slightly recessed birth in each side of the sprinklerhead accommodating the root-ends of said arms will keep them in a parallel, rigid position.

A pivot-bar I5 is horizontally supported between said arms l3 and I4, and one of its ends is curved downward to form a tracer arm IS.

.A roller I1 is mounted at the lower end of said tracer arm, the roller sprinkler.

The other end of the pivot-bar l5 terminates in a stump I 8, upon which, by means of a set screw l9, an arm 20, is held fast. Said arm extends upwardly and about the location of the nozzle, in a curve designed to clear the splashing of the water as caused by the scoop l9.

Said arm 20 carries at its top a deflecting vane 2| substantially in a horizontal position. When this deflecting vane swings forward and away from the nozzle, it will come in the path of the water jet and because of the slanted intersection thus efifected, it will deflect the stream of water downward in increasing degrees with the wider swing. It will also fan out the water sideways, especially if the vanes leading edge has been rounded out for such purpose.

Around the pivot-bar I5 is coiled a spring 22 which will bias the roller l1 into swinging towards the sprinkler and at the same time, the deflecting vane 2| into swinging forwardly and away from said sprinkler.

The washers 23, 24 and 25 are stacked and tightened between the bearing-nut 3, and the the latter being so curved as to bring upon a middle vertical plane of the elbow 4. Note that they all fit around the threaded portion of the bearing-nut but they have difierent over-all diameters, the larger one being at the bottom and the small one in the middle. The large bottom one is also thinner and made of spring sheeting for resiliency.

A cam-plate 26 has an outline corresponding in reduced scale to that of the area of the ground to be watered.

Inasmuch as this sprinkler has; a tendency to throw water beyond the farther points of a rectangular pattern, a correction may be efiected by slightly rounding-in those edges of the cam-plate that are intended to describe a. straight line. Said cam-plate is divided in two halves, and what would have been a round hole, were it in one. piece, forms a crescent recess in. each of said half plates. This recess will fit around the middle washer 24 as well as in between the washers 23 and 25 and because of friction will remain clamped around thebearing nut 3.

Fig 4. shows two. half plates, one hali round, one half square,eombining to make a composite line contour. The half plate need only to have continuity of outline at the joints, and most any shapewhieh does not extend beyond a maximum radius and does not produce corners of less than 90% will be suitable.

The above described system of clampingthe two: halves of a camplate is convenient as it makes it practical to change difierently outlined cam-plates to the sprinkler without separating the sprinkler head from its base support. This is especially important in a portable sprinkler that is to be used in more than one location.

However, in a stationary installation, the camplate may be in a single piece and permanently tightened. between the bearing nut 3- and the elbow 4 through a center hole.

It may be readily visualized that in an arrangement like this, during the sprinklersoperation, the roller [1 is kept in. contact with the edge of the cam-plate 26 by the tension cf'the spring 22. As the roller rides around over said edge, the tracer: arms [6, which carries it, will tilt in and out, according to the changing radii of the camplate.

At the same-time, the arm 20, which fastened to the other end of thepivot-bar' l5, will tilt back and forth causing the vane 2| to deflect the traj ectory of the water jet.

The coordination of the movements of the aforesaid elements will therefore control the Water jet into describing a pattern of wetted ground which will be similar in shape to the outline of the cam-plate being used.

Having disclosed my invention, I claim:

1. A lawn sprinkler having a head revolvable on a vertical axis upon a stationary base; a nozzle obliquely projecting from said head; an oscillating balance turning the head when activated by a water jet impinging upon an inclined scoop formed. at. one. end of the balance; a water trajectory controlling unit consisting of a lever carrying jet deflecting vane, a tracer arm connected, to said lever, a cam-plate mounted over the sprinkler stationary base, said cam-plates outline guiding the swinging end of said tracer arm into regulating the degree of tilt of the said jet deflecting vane, and means for biasing said tracer arm toward said cam-plate.

2. A lawn sprinkler having a head revolvable on a. vertical axis upon a stationary base; a nozzle obliquely projecting from said head; an oscillating balance turning the head when activated by a water jet impinging upon an inclined scoop formed at one end of the balance a water trajectory controlling unit consisting of alever carrying a jet deflecting. vane, a. tracer arm connected to said lever, a manually replaceable cam plate clamped over the sprinkler stationary base, said cam-plates outline guiding the. swinging, end of said tracer arm into regulating. the degree of tilt of the said jet deflecting vane, and means for biasing said tracer arm toward said camplate.

ALDO

References Cited. in. the file of. this. patent UNITED: STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,593,918 Stanton July 2'7, 1926 1,710,107 Orr Apr. 23, 1929 2,530,779 Owbridge Nov. 21, 1950 2,565,926 Manning Aug. 28, 1951 2,582,158 Porter Jan. 8, 1952 

